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Shark and ray tourism is growing in popularity and often necessitates attractants like bait and chum to encourage close encounters. Such practices remain contentious amongst stakeholders as they may affect the species they target. We used lipid and fatty acid profiles to investigate the effects of South Australia's cage-diving industry on the diet and nutritional condition of white sharks Carcharodon carcharias (n = 75). We found no evidence of dietary shifts or reduced nutritional condition after a >3 week period of tourism-exposed residency at the Neptune Islands where the cage-diving industry operates. White sharks fed on a variety of prey groups, similar to other populations around Southern Australia that are not exposed to ecotourism provisioning. These findings indicate that current cage-diving operations in South Australia do not alter white shark diet and nutritional condition where prey resources are abundant. Image 1 • Previous studies suggest white shark cage-diving changes shark behaviour and daily activity. • Lipids and fatty acids in white shark muscle were used to assess the nutritional effects of the cage-diving industry. • White shark nutrition is unaffected by practices of the cage-diving industry. • White sharks do not consume sufficient bait (tuna) to affect their diet. • White sharks foraging ecology at the Neptune Islands is similar to other locations in South Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shark-human interactions are some of the most pervasive human-wildlife conflicts, and their frequencies are increasing globally. New South Wales (Australia) was the first to implement a broad-scale program of shark-bite mitigation in 1937 using shark nets, which expanded in the late 2010s to include non-lethal measures. Using 196 unprovoked shark-human interactions recorded in New South Wales since 1900, we show that bites shifted from being predominantly on swimmers to 79 % on surfers by the 1980s and increased 2–4-fold. We could not detect differences in the interaction rate at netted versus non-netted beaches since the 2000s, partly because of low incidence and high variance. Although shark-human interactions continued to occur at beaches with tagged-shark listening stations, there were no interactions while SMART drumlines and/or drones were deployed. Our effect-size analyses show that a small increase in the difference between mitigated and non-mitigated beaches could indicate reductions in shark-human interactions. Area-based protection alone is insufficient to reduce shark-human interactions, so we propose a new, globally transferable approach to minimise risk of shark bite more effectively. • Shark bites are increasing globally and risk reduction is challenging • We tested the efficacy of mitigation measures used in Australia • Mitigation measures does not significantly reduce number of interactions • Low number of shark bites and high variability hampers statistical tests • Area protection alone is insufficient to reduce shark-human interactions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Shark-diving tourism has become a global phenomenon and is widely promoted to contribute to pro-conservation attitudes by dispelling myths and exposing tourists to sharks in their natural habitat. It has also resulted in a stimulating scientific literature identifying pros and cons of practices, elucidating potential biological effects on associated species, and evaluating social implications. With the worldwide popularization of shark tourism in recent years, a set of new challenges facing shark-diving tourism is starting to emerge. Here, we offer our thoughts on four topics that have developed into challenges for shark-related wildlife tourism: animal welfare, ecological interactions, fitness and bioenergetics, and public safety. Our discussion primarily involves perspectives on white shark operations, and, to a lesser extent, whale shark tourism. We contend that our opinions do not necessarily reflect the most important issues to shark-diving tourism; instead, we suggest that they are timely and that this paper should be considered an ‘open letter’ to researchers and policy-makers. Consideration of emerging challenges to any field are important for adaptive management and as such will be of interest to operators and resource managers tasked with ensuring sustainable practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although wildlife tourism is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, the industry has a potential to affect the fauna it targets. A variety of methods are used to monitor the activities and impacts of wildlife tourism. In South Australia, mandatory logbook reporting and the ability to photograph and identify individual sharks provides two industry-based data sources to monitor how cage-diving tourism may impact white sharks. Findings show that both methods can assess shark populations, and detect seasonal sex-biased changes in white shark abundance. Photo-ID significantly underestimates effort days and number of sharks sighted, and is considerably more labour-intensive, but allows accurate identification of individual sharks, facilitating additional analysis. The continued use of logbook reporting is the optimum long-term monitoring method, although we recommend the maintenance of a photographic database for periodic extraction of individual information. Combining these methods will facilitate an ongoing adaptive management framework, aiding the long-term sustainability of the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife tourism is often promoted as an activity which supports conservation by enhancing environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour through interpretative messaging and personal experiences with wildlife. Despite these potential linkages, evidence to support such claims is limited. In order for wildlife tourism operators to build a motivated constituency supporting conservation, elements of the tour which contribute to positive attitudes and environmental behaviour must be identified. This study investigated the attitudes and environmental behaviour of 136 wildlife tourists following a white shark cage-dive experience in South Australia. Responses to an online survey revealed a significant increase in participation for seven of the eight conservation-related behaviours explored, and a positive shift in participants’ understanding, awareness, attitudes, and concern for sharks following the tour. Results suggest that emotional engagement during the tour is associated with enhancing participants’ knowledge and attitude towards sharks. Recommendations for complementing the emotional response to viewing wildlife, with interpretative communication, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the vulnerability of species to anthropogenic threats is an essential step when developing management strategies for wild populations. With industrial development forecasted to increase in Spencer Gulf, South Australia, it is crucial to assess the ongoing effects of anthropogenic threats to resident and migratory species. Expert elicitation was used to assess 27 threats against 38 threatened, protected, and iconic marine-associated species. Species and threat interactions were assessed individually, and as taxonomic or functional groups. Climate change had the greatest overall exposure (c.f. risk) across species, followed by disturbance, pollution, disease/invasive species, and fishing/aquaculture threats. The largest overall sensitivities (c.f. consequences) were pollution and disease/invasive species, followed by climate change, disturbance and fishing/aquaculture threats. Vulnerability scores (exposure x sensitivity) showed the climate change group posing the greatest overall threat in Spencer Gulf, with individual climatic threats ranking as three of the top four biggest threats to most animal groups. Noise, shipping, and net fishing were considered the greatest region-specific individual threats to marine mammals; as were trawl fishing, line fishing, and coastal activities to fish/cuttlefish; trawl fishing, line fishing, and net fishing to elasmobranchs; and oil spill, disease, and coastal activities to sea/shorebirds. Eighteen of the 20 highest vulnerability scores involved the short-beaked common dolphin, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, and Australian sea lion, highlighting the particular susceptibility of these species to specific threats. These findings provide a synthesis of key threats and vulnerable species, and give management a basis to direct future monitoring and threat mitigation efforts in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife tourism can assist species conservation through community-involvement and education, while contributing to regional economies. In the last decade, shark diving has become increasingly popular among wildlife tourists worldwide, including cage-diving with white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias). In Australia, birthplace of the white shark diving industry, an adaptive management framework has been developed to minimise potentially detrimental effects on white sharks. We monitored the residency of 135 white sharks using acoustic tracking over eight years (2013–2021) at the Neptune Islands Group Marine Park to assess the efficacy of management regulations put in place in 2012, which limited the number of operating boats to three and a maximum of five weekly days of activity. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to investigate possible differences in shark residency as a function of number of acoustic receivers used and their corresponding distances to long-term monitoring stations. Similar residency patterns were observed independently of the number of receivers used or their deployment locations, suggesting that the monitoring design was adequate to monitor shark residency. White shark yearly residency decreased following the implementation of new regulations in 2012 and returned to baseline levels by 2013–2014. Our results highlight that white shark residency can recover from tourism-related changes and showcase how adequately-developed and -implemented regulations can enable the successful management and long-term sustainability of one of the oldest shark tourism industries. This adaptative framework (problem identification, development and implementation of policies, efficacy monitoring and performance evaluation) is broadly applicable to management of other tourism industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social research can aid in understanding the behaviour of the general public or stakeholders towards natural resources. In the case of recreational fishing, social research aids in integrating anglers' knowledge and attitudes into management frameworks to increase the likelihood of the uptake of new management regulations. Tournament anglers were surveyed at game fishing competitions throughout New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia between February 2012 and May 2013 to investigate their general beliefs around sharks and their behaviours when targeting pelagic sharks. Over half (55%) of the anglers interviewed practised catch and release of pelagic sharks. Of those, almost all (98%) asserted that they attempt to release sharks in good condition, but a large percentage of anglers (48%) did not use circle hooks that have been shown to increase post-release survival. Results showing some concordance between angler's beliefs and behaviours when targeting pelagic sharks suggest that anglers are cognisant of the functional role of sharks in the ecosystem and would be open to recommendations ensuring the long-term sustainability of recreational fisheries targeting pelagic sharks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The determination of age for large, harvested species such as chondrichthyans is important to the estimation of growth and other key life history parameters such as natural mortality, age-at-maturity, longevity, and recruitment. Vertebrae from 760 wobbegongs (275 Orectolobus ornatus, 232 O. maculatus, and 253 O. halei) were collected between June 2003 and December 2007 at seven locations in eastern Australia (Queensland and New South Wales) to estimate growth parameters for these species. A multi-model inference (MMI) information theoretical approach including four candidate models, with back-calculated estimates of length in earlier life stages to account for limited numbers of pup and juvenile wobbegongs, was used to determine the most appropriate growth model for each species. The models that combined observed and back-calculated lengths-at-age did not provide a better fit than the model using observed lengths-at-age data only. Taking into account biologically meaningful estimations of L ∞ and k, the models with the best fit to the data were the logistic growth function for O. ornatus and O. halei, and the von Bertalanffy growth model for O. maculatus. Using these models, growth parameters obtained were: 999, 1630 and 2128mm total length for L ∞ and 0.19, 0.09 and 0.20 for k, while the maximum number of growth bands was 20, 22, and 27, for O. ornatus, O. maculatus, and O. halei, respectively. All three species were monomorphic, with similar growth rates for males and females. Verification and validation undertaken using edge and marginal increment analyses, as well as chemical marking of captive and wild wobbegongs, suggested that growth band deposition in orectolobids is more likely to be linked to somatic growth than seasonality. This study is the first to use chemically marked wild Orectolobiformes to investigate growth band deposition rate. Five orectolobid species have now been shown not to deposit growth bands following a synchronous annual pattern, in contrast to that inferred for most other chondrichthyan species. The growth parameters estimated in this study are crucial for stock assessments and for demographic analyses to assess the sustainability of commercial harvests. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Many marine fish populations have declined due to the individual or cumulative impacts of increasing water temperatures, ocean acidification, overfishing and other human-induced impacts such as land run-off, dredging and habitat alteration. Some solutions may be offered by ecosystem-based fisheries and conservation management. However, understanding their effectiveness relies on the availability of good quality data on the size distributions and abundance of fish populations and assemblages, collected at appropriate temporal and spatial scales. Since the early 2000s, baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVs) have become a popular tool for collecting data on fish assemblages across a range of depths and habitats. In Australia, this technique has been adopted by many different agencies and institutions, creating a unique opportunity to compile a continental-scale synthesis of fish data using a standardised sampling technique. Key Australian researchers and managers were invited to contribute to a synthesis workshop on baited underwater video in Albany, Western Australia between the 4th and 8th of February 2018. Data from 19,939 BRUVs deployments, collected between 2000 and 2017 around Australia, were compiled using GlobalArchive (globalarchive.org). The workshop identified and prioritised several key research themes that would contribute to the conservation and sustainable management of focal species and broad assemblages. Our goal is to describe where and when the data were collected, the type of equipment used and how the imagery was analysed. We also discuss the types of questions that can be addressed by analysing these standardised datasets and the potential benefits to conservation and fisheries management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 restrictions have led to an unprecedented global hiatus in anthropogenic activities, providing a unique opportunity to assess human impact on biological systems. Here, we describe how a national network of acoustic tracking receivers can be leveraged to assess the effects of human activity on animal movement and space use during such global disruptions. We outline variation in restrictions on human activity across Australian states and describe four mechanisms affecting human interactions with the marine environment: 1) reduction in economy and trade changing shipping traffic; 2) changes in export markets affecting commercial fisheries; 3) alterations in recreational activities; and 4) decline in tourism. We develop a roadmap for the analysis of acoustic tracking data across various scales using Australia's national Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) Animal Tracking Facility as a case study. We illustrate the benefit of sustained observing systems and monitoring programs by assessing how a 51-day break in white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) cage-diving tourism due to COVID-19 restrictions affected the behaviour and space use of two resident species. This cessation of tourism activities represents the longest break since cage-diving vessels started day trips in this area in 2007. Long-term monitoring of the local environment reveals that the activity space of yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) was reduced when cage-diving boats were absent compared to periods following standard tourism operations. However, white shark residency and movements were not affected. Our roadmap is globally applicable and will assist researchers in designing studies to assess how anthropogenic activities can impact animal movement and distributions during regional, short-term through to major, unexpected disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic. • National acoustic tracking network can assess the effects of COVID on animal movement. • We describe four mechanisms affecting human interactions with the marine environment. • Australia's IMOS Animal Tracking was used to assess the effects of COVID restrictions. • In SA, white shark cage-diving has been taking place nearly every day for >20 years. • A 51-day break did not affect white shark residency or space use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Developing and enhancing non-lethal methods for sampling species of high conservation concern, including marine megafauna, has prompted the development of numerous biopsy methods to collect tissue for biochemical analyses. However, many of these analyses require adequately-sized muscle cores for reliable results. Here, we developed and trialed a novel modification to a biopsy probe traditionally limited to underwater use, which enables sampling of free-swimming sharks from above the surface. The modified probe used collected similar amounts of white shark, Carcharodon carcharias , muscle and sub-dermal tissue above water as the traditional underwater probe (muscle: 0.36 g vs. 0.44 g; sub-dermal tissue: 0.62 g vs. 0.44 g for surface and underwater respectively). Both methods obtained sufficient tissue for several analyses to be run on the same tissue core (e.g. stable isotopes, fatty acids, and genetics). This encourages the use of this biopsy probe, with studies assessing stock structure, trophic ecology, or physiology. The described modification adapts the probe to allow above-water deployment, providing more opportunities for effective, non-lethal sampling of free-swimming sharks. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Obtaining sufficient muscle tissue from large sharks can be challenging. • Using a water balloon to trap water in a biopsy probe enables use from the surface. • With the balloon the probe retains similar biopsies from the surface and underwater. • The tissue retained is ample for isotope, lipid, ecotoxicology and genetic research. • Taking biopsies from the surface provides additional sampling opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantifying the behavioural response of chondrichthyans to capture in longline fisheries can assist in understanding the physiological changes resulting from capture stress and ultimately aid in developing fishing practices that increase the survival of released bycatch species. Here, we evaluated the use of time-depth recorders (TDR) as a tool to quantify the amount of movement during capture across 42 animals from seven species of shark and one species of ray caught on hooks with TDRs attached in either a demersal or surface longline. Depth changes over time were analysed using three methods to estimate the percentage of time sharks and rays struggled on the line. Methods used were; 1) a Visual Assessment Method (VAM) of the TDR trace conducted by two investigators quantifying movement by summing the duration of movement bouts visually identified by erratic changes of depth; 2) the Gangion Extension Method (GEM) which quantifies movement by summing periods when captured animals altered their depth by > 50% of the gangion length; and 3) the Vertical Excursion Method (VEM) which quantifies movement by summing periods when the absolute depth change between successive data points exceeded a threshold determined from the maximum depth change in the TDR data prior to capture of the animal. We found that the VAM was consistent across investigators and produced significantly higher estimates of movement than GEM and VEM. Estimates of movement from GEM and VEM were not significantly different to each other, but unlike GEM, VEM could be applied to TDRs used in both surface and demersal longlines. The amount of movement observed was different between species and such differences were consistent across all methods, indicating that species-specific behavioural responses to capture can be identified. The ability to assess capture behaviour using VEM allows inter-species comparisons, which may be used as a metric for rapid, generalised assessment of species' responses to longline capture where physiological data may be limited or lacking. Such assessments are important in the design of species-specific management for bycaught animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimates of spawning biomass obtained using the daily egg production method (DEPM) are used to establish catch limits for Jack Mackerel ( Trachurus declivis ) off eastern Australia. Information from concurrent ichthyoplankton and adult surveys conducted between Port Stephens, New South Wales and South East Cape, Tasmania during January 2014 was used to assess the environmental factors that determine the spawning patterns of Jack Mackerel. Adults were collected using a modified demersal trawl net deployed during daylight hours. Samples were unbiased with respect to sex, spawning activity and size. Large fish were collected from both the inner shelf and shelf break; spawning fractions and egg densities were high inshore and low offshore. These findings suggest complex spatio-temporal patterns of spawning, different to previous studies suggesting that most spawning occurred at the shelf break (∼200 m). Eggs were most abundant in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) of 15–20 °C and at depths of <130 m. Future ichthyoplankton surveys should target waters with SSTs of 14–23 °C and depths of 30–250 m. Future adult surveys should sample the same range of depths and latitudes as the ichthyoplankton surveys and be structured as systematically as permitted by the availability of habitats suitable for demersal trawling. The DEPM does not provide information about the abundance of non-spawning adults outside the main spawning area. Extending future adult surveys beyond the spawning area would address this limitation by providing estimates of the distribution and relative abundance of adults across the entire range of the population. Findings of this study will help to improve the design of future DEPM surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although pervasive, the effects of climate change vary regionally, possibly resulting in differential behavioral, physiological, and/or phenotypic responses among populations within broadly distributed species. Juvenile Port Jackson sharks (Heterodontus portusjacksoni) from eastern and southern Australia were reared at their current (17.6 °C Adelaide, South Australia [SA]; 20.6 °C Jervis Bay, New South Wales [NSW]) or projected end-of-century (EOC) temperatures (20.6 °C Adelaide, SA; 23.6 °C Jervis Bay, NSW) and assessed for morphological features of skeletal muscle tissue. Nearly all skeletal muscle properties including cellularity, fiber size, myonuclear domain, and satellite cell density did not differ between locations and thermal regimes. However, capillary density was significantly influenced by thermal treatment, where Adelaide sharks raised at current temperatures had a lower capillarity than Jervis Bay sharks raised at ambient or projected EOC temperatures. This may indicate higher metabolic costs at elevated temperatures. However, our results suggest that regardless of the population, juvenile Port Jackson sharks may have limited acclimatory potential to alter muscle metabolic features under a temperature increase, which may make this species vulnerable to climate change. [Display omitted] • Port Jackson sharks show few muscle structure changes under higher temperatures. • Port Jackson sharks modify skeletal muscle capillaries based on the thermal regime. • Adelaide and Jervis Bay juveniles are similarly vulnerable to higher temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the tourism industry, where feeding animals is often applied to increase the probability of up-close encounters. However, directly feeding wildlife can cause behavioural, ecological, and physiological changes in the target species. In Oslob, Philippines, whale shark (Rhincodon typus) tourism involves feeding sharks a total of 150–400 kg sergestid shrimp daily throughout the interaction period from 06:00 to 10:00 from small outrigger boats while tourists observe whale sharks. We deployed tri-axial acceleration loggers on 16 whale sharks and recorded 270 h of acceleration, depth, and water temperature data (0.2–69.7 h). Comparing activity across tourism and non-tourism periods, whale sharks had a two-fold increase in vectorial dynamic body acceleration, and altered tailbeat frequency and amplitude, during tourism operations. Using a bioenergetics model, we show that whale shark metabolic rates increased by 56.7–71.6 % while in the tourism area. A resampling approach found providing ∼220 kg of sergestid shrimp daily would ensure ≥ 0.90 probability of meeting the increased energetic requirements. A global sensitivity analysis revealed that uncertainty in the assumed exponent of the standard metabolic rate was the only input that varied model predictions substantially. Due to unknown consequences of feeding whale sharks, we recommend managers aim to reduce the energy expenditure of whale sharks through operation changes instead of focussing on the quantity of food provided. Our research provides a novel method to contextualise the impacts of tourism beyond behavioural changes. Three panels showing whale shark (Rhincodon typus) metabolic rate (MO 2), activity (vectorial dynamic body acceleration), tailbeat, and temperature, across the periods of morning tourism, afternoon post-tourism , and non-tourism mornings and afternoons. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fatty acid (FA) analysis is increasingly being used as a tool to investigate the diet of sharks and rays. Quantifying the diet of sharks using FA profiles, however, requires an understanding of the effects that fluctuating diet has on the biochemical pathways in different tissues, and of the time scales of FA integration. The effects of dietary changes on the muscle and liver FA profiles were investigated in a controlled feeding experiment with Port Jackson sharks (Heterodontus portusjacksoni) fed exclusively on squid then prawns for six weeks each. Multivariate analysis indicated that shark muscle and liver FA profiles were 9.8% and 7.7% dissimilar after dietary change. This suggests that dietary FAs are preferentially utilised by muscle after dietary change and that muscle FA profiles are a stronger indicator of dietary changes occurring within three weeks of sampling than the FA profiles of the liver. This should be carefully considered when determining the type of tissue and frequency of sampling needed to undertake chondrichthyan dietary studies based on FA profile analysis. Some FA biomarkers and their metabolic processes are also identified and described, but further work is required to enable quantitative assessment of a species diet. Data presented here gives justification towards more complex experiments to investigate metabolic and FA tissue incorporation rates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We used the Ecopath with Ecosim software to develop a trophic mass-balance model of the eastern Great Australian Bight ecosystem, off southern Australia. Results provide an ecosystem perspective of Australia''s largest fishery, the South Australian sardine fishery, by placing its establishment and growth in the context of other dynamic changes in the ecosystem, including: the development of other fisheries; changing abundances of apex predator populations and oceanographic change. We investigated the potential impacts of the sardine fishery on high tropic level predators, particularly land-breeding seals and seabirds which may be suitable ecological performance indicators of ecosystem health. Results indicate that despite the rapid growth of the sardine fishery since 1991, there has likely been a negligible fishery impact on other modelled groups, suggesting that current levels of fishing effort are not impacting negatively on the broader ecosystem structure and function in the eastern Great Australian Bight. Results highlight the importance of small pelagic fish to higher trophic levels, the trophic changes that have resulted from loss and recovery of apex predator populations, and the potential pivotal role of cephalopod biomass in regulating ‘bottom-up’ trophic processes. The ability to resolve and attribute potential impacts from multiple fisheries, other human impacts and ecological change in this poorly understood region is highlighted by the study, and will be critical to ensure future ecologically sustainable development within the region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly applied to regulate fishing and conserve marine biodiversity. Yet, MPAs are often designed without sufficient ecological knowledge of the species they are intended to protect. This is particularly relevant to large and wide-ranging marine predators including many elasmobranchs (sharks and rays), for which region-specific space-use information is limited. Further, uncertainty remains in how to integrate movement datasets with systematic conservation planning frameworks to meet explicit conservation objectives. We addressed these knowledge gaps by combining movement models, constructed from passive acoustic telemetry data for eight elasmobranch species, and systematic conservation planning to investigate the design and adequacy of MPAs in Bimini, The Bahamas. Currently, there is a proposal for a no-take MPA in North Bimini (NBMPA), although it is unclear how this MPA would benefit elasmobranch communities if or when implemented. Our results show that although the NBMPA would contribute to elasmobranch conservation, the supplementation with an additional MPA southwest of Bimini would be necessary to protect important habitats for multiple elasmobranch species. This southwestern area was highlighted as a conservation priority area of both permanent MPA designs as well as seasonal time-area closures, regardless of NBMPA implementation status and conservation targets considered in this study. Our integrative approach also demonstrates its ability to optimize MPA designs for marine predator communities, combining multi-species movement models, constructed from acoustic telemetry datasets that include space-use estimates over multiple years, with MPA optimization tools. • Combined movement models and systematic conservation planning to design MPAs. • New and proposed MPA design and adequacy were evaluated for elasmobranch community. • Proposed no-take North Bimini MPA, Bahamas, has limited use for multiple species. • MPA southwest of Bimini is recommended to protect essential areas for elasmobranchs. • Movement models and systematic conservation planning can optimize MPA performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]